Specialist retail chain Printing.com, which has extensive interests in the Midlands, has outlined its plans for growth after a year consolidating the company.

The past year has seen the group expand its network of outlets from 166 to 205, but chief executive Tony Rafferty said the ultimate intention was to double this to around 400.

"We have put measures in place to allow us to complete the expansion in line with our growth strategy.

"We have expanded production facilities at our Manchester factory and we have also secured an overseas licence to operate in New Zealand, where we have 23 outlets," he said.

The company has also agreed a second major licence with a second country, which it will launch in September, while it is also in talks with potential partners in the US, following a successful visit to the Graph Expo printing exhibition in Chicago.

Investment in the Manchester factory has been considerable and has doubled capacity to support business worth almost £45 million.

The addition of a sizeable mezzanine floor added a further 745 sq m of production area, and a swimming pool-sized recess has also been constructed to accommodate a new double-decker printing press.

The Printing.com business is essentially designed to vend services, in addition to printing, to the highly fragmented SME marketplace, together with the corporate departments of larger firms.

One of these services is website design. The essence of 'Websites by Printing.com' is a design, build and hosting service positioned between the numerous DIY offerings on the web and the entry-level service available via a typical small business web-site designer.

The company is pitching its service in the range of £400 to £600 and is expecting a strong response.

During the past four months the company has been training staff in the delivery of such services, and it said initial feedback was that the service had been well received.

Company results, reported yesterday, show a four per cent rise in pre-tax profit for the year ended April 2.

The company said trading volume in the current period was ahead of the same period last year and in line with its internal budget.

Pre-tax profit was £2.33 million against a restated £2.24 million last year as turnover rose 2.2 per cent to £12.14 million from £11.88 million a year ago.

"We are confident about the future and we believe this is reflected in the dividend," said Mr Rafferty.

The company has declared a final dividend of 1.9p a share, lifting the total dividend to 2.5p from 1.75p a year ago.

In addition to five branches in Birmingham, the company also has outlets in Sutton Coldfield, Coventry, Halesowen, Kenilworth, Leamington Spa, Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.